The present invention relates to improvement of human hearing ability, and in particular to a device for improving one's ability to perceive sounds originating from a particular direction, and to determine the direction from which such sounds are emanating, without the use of electronic amplifiers and the like.
The device of the present invention is particularly intended for use by hunters who would like to hear the sounds made by game birds or animals as they move, and to be able to determine the direction in which such game is located, even though human hearing acuity is normally somewhat less than that of most game animals and birds. The invention might also be used by spectators at sporting events, plays, and other public events, who would like better to hear what is said by the players, rather than what is said by persons seated behind them.
It has long been recognized that sound energy can be concentrated and guided to one's ears so as to be more easily audible. For example, ear trumpets were used long before electronic sound amplification was available for use in hearing aids. As taught in MacDonald U.S. Pat. No. 269,078 and in Hinternesch U.S. Pat. No. 1,761,666, a pair of ear trumpets of more or less complex construction can be interconnected with one another so as to include a structure extending over the top of one's head to hold the pair of ear trumpets with an end of each in place in a respective one of the user's ears. Such devices, while probably exhibiting some ability to aid in determining the direction from which sound emanates, are somewhat undesirable because of the necessity for extending into one's ear, and are unnecessarily complex in their construction, for one who has normal hearing capability.
What is desired, then, is a simple, inexpensive, non-electrical device for enhancing the ability of a person to hear and to determine the direction of origin of sounds, without the need to hold a device in the user's hands.